Thomas Robb: Knights Bring Home Victory!

I have been unable to write on this blog for several days. The computer in the business center at the motel we stayed at in Greensboro had a horrible keyboard. It was difficult to type on and after sending the last blog last Thursday night I gave up trying to write anymore until I got back to my office.

The schedule was to meet with a mediator on Friday and then meet for a deposition with opposing counsel on Monday.

For those of you who may not be informed on this issue I want to brief you on what the legal controversy was about.

Literature had been distributed in Greensboro, North Carolina over the last several years. This, of course, is no different than other areas where friends and supporters distribute literature. Often times people will take old discarded newspapers and separate them so that Knights Party literature can be rolled up on the outside of the section, which is used as weight, and then deliver them as a paperboy (papergirl) might deliver newspapers.

This is perfectly legal, as a newspaper does not retain ownership of a newspaper after it has been sold or discarded.

This was the situation in Greensboro, NC. A local newspaper, The Rhino Times, decided to file a law suit against The Knights. While their position was very weak, it is still one we had to respond to. If we did not we would have lost by default.

In writing the story for their own publication they stated that we have a long history of violence and intimidation. This article was posted on the internet. Our local attorney quickly filed a $50,000 lawsuit here in Boone County, Arkansas for slander. Which, of course, they never saw coming. There is no doubt in my mind that they never expected us to put up a fight.

When the lawsuit first came upon us we were concerned about finding an attorney and it wasn’t until the time period for us to do so was almost expired that we did get our attorney which came through a contact I made 30 years ago.

The Rhino Times suit against us was without merit. As they saw us mounting our defense they began making offers to settle out of court. I was confident they did not want to go to court because they had made claims of financial loss. If they had a financial loss then we were going to ask them to establish this loss and the only way they could do this was to open up their books and let us look at them.

Throughout the past year they actually made four offers to settle out of court. Each time I turned them down and said the only thing they can do to make this go away is for them to dismiss the action against us.

On Friday, with our attorneys, Jason Robb and David Sherrill, I meet John Hammer, the editor of The Rhino Times and a court appointed mediator. Again they offered to settle and again I refused.

I told the mediator that I did not want to go to court, but was confident that if we did go to court I could win. But that even if we lost, I was sure I could get the issue into federal court and win on grounds of constitutionally protected rights.

After about three hours with the attorneys and the mediator, Rhino Times went limp like a wet dishrag. They withdrew their lawsuit on the contingency that we would dismiss our lawsuit in Arkansas and that we would not take further action against them for this malicious unmerited lawsuit they filed against us.

I want to say that I believe God had a hand in this. I found it interesting that we won this major victory for The Knights and white people everywhere, at the same location that is considered the cradle of the civil rights movement. I don’t know if this was coincidence or providence.

The office where we met the mediator was across the street from the Woolworth store where on February 1, 1960 four black street agitators sat at a lunch counter in the white section and refused to move. This created national publicity and the Woolworth store remains an icon in the civil rights movement.

Also I am of the firm opinion that without the financial backing of so many of you, this victory could not have happened. At each step and at each decision I knew two things:

1) Each of you was counting on me to make the right decision. I could not let you down and I could not take the easy path.

2) I knew that there was money to fight back. Without your help I could not have mounted the legal defense we did. Without your help I would have had an empty financial war chest and there would have been no money to fight. But because I knew that you were there and the money was there I was prepared to go all the way without a flinch. I was confident - with arrogant faith - in our final victory.

I appreciate all of you that helped. We still have several thousand dollars to pay on the final legal bill so I am still counting on you to help in this matter.

I am going to post some pictures. I may arrange them in order, but if it is too time consuming then I won’t.

Also I am going to leave this post on for a couple of days so people can look at it. Without having to scroll down and possibly miss it. So after I post this I will not write on this blog until Tuesday morning (16th). I don’t usually post on Sunday or Monday anyway. This way the announcement of this victory will be at the top for people to view.

Again, I am hoping to see a lot of you in Pulaski on October 20th. We are going to have a great time and wonderful fellowship. Heritage Connection will be there and if you are within 500 miles this is something you will want to bring the family to.

Don’t forget the Winter Fellowship Conference on December 1 and 2.

God bless!

This is a picture of me calling back home announcing our victory against The Rhino Times.

This is my Rhino tie which I wore for the meeting with the mediator and intended to wear for the deposition. I thought it was appropriate and possibly irritate the Rhino Times editor, "just a little."

Our Arkansas attorney, Jason Robb, ready to "do battle" with The Rhino Times. He entered the North Carolina court as pro hoc vice. He was also the one that filed the $50,000 lawsuit against The Rhino Times in Arkansas for slander.

Jason refused to accept any legal fees, other than actual court costs.

Jason Robb and myself returning from our victory after The Rhino Times dismissed the lawsuit against The Knights.

As we were leaving the motel on Friday morning to meet with John Hammer, Editor of The Rhino Times and the court appointed mediator we noticed this copy of The Rhino Times in the trash. Was God telling us something? Rhino Times was going to be trashed in just a couple of hours.

We were suppose to get an economy car at the airport, but they were all out so they gave us this Pontiac SUV. It was nice! I hated to get back home to my 1998 Chevy van.

While in Greensboro we had the pleasure to meet up with our old friend A. J. Barker. It was good to see him again.

With the dismissal of the lawsuit we ended up with some spare time on our hands. Our return trip wasn't until Tuesday. Monday morning we went to see the battle grounds of Guilford Courthouse which was fought on March 15th, 1781. This battle was considered a win for the British commander, Cornwallis, but the fact it that it was a expensive victory. Cornwallis lost about a quarter of his troops and was forced to retreat to Yorktown, Virginia where in October he surrendered to Washington. The monument is to Nathaniel Greene, the commander of the American military.

This is a headstone of an American militiaman. He was born in 1752 and died in 1833

The foot prints of the four black agitators cast in bronze. They sat at a lunch counter refusing to move. Children are taught about how brave they were, but the fact is they were surrounded by reporters, camera and police to insure their safety.

Jason Robb and I in the professional building where the attorneys for the Rhino Times maintain their office. You can see the bottom of their windows directly above my head.